The Big Switch : Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google
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Description
Hailed as "the most influential book so far on the cloud computing movement" (Christian Science Monitor), The Big Switch makes a simple and profound statement: Computing is turning into a utility, and the effects of this transition will ultimately change society as completely as the advent of cheap electricity did. In a new chapter for this edition that brings the story up-to-date, Nicholas Carr revisits the dramatic new world being conjured from the circuits of the "World Wide Computer."
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Product details
- Paperback | 304 pages
- 140 x 211 x 20mm | 232g
- 25 Jun 2013
- WW Norton & Co
- New York, United States
- English
- Reprint
- 039334522X
- 9780393345223
- 232,157
Review quote
"Future Shock for the Web-apps era...Compulsively readable-for nontechies, too-as it compellingly weaves together news stories, anecdotes, and data." -- Fast Company "The best read so far about the significance of the shift to cloud computing." -- Financial Times "Mr. Carr's provocations are destined to influence CEOs and the boards and investors that support them as companies grapple with the constant change of the digital age." -- Wall Street Journal "Exceedingly good." -- TechWorld "The Big Switch is thought-provoking and an enjoyable read, and the history of American electricity that makes up the first half of the book is riveting stuff." -- New York Post "Carr stimulates, provokes and entertains superbly." -- Information Age
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About Nicholas Carr
Nicholas Carr is the author of The Shallows, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, The Glass Cage, and Utopia is Creepy. He has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Atlantic, and Wired. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife.
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Our customer reviews
The way we use computers has changed forever.
Once, everything you needed for your computer was contained in the plastic or metal casing. You bought software in a box. Now your devices are access points, a way onto the internet. Software gets downloaded or used through your browser.
Nicholas Carr sees a parallel between the way computing has changed and is changing and the way electricity moved from Edisonâ??s controlled, private network to a utility.
The old and outdated business model was that you competed and strove for a monopoly. You wanted to quash your competitors. Now, business rivals must engage in co-opetition: Apple must let Google have apps on iDevices to satisfy consumers; the full power of Microsoft Office is only just being restored now that itâ??s available on every mobile platform and in the cloud.
Often in investing and business, weâ??re hungry to know whatâ??s going to happen next. We forget that history is an excellent teacher. Warren Buffett, for example, used history to dodge the dot com bubble. As Carr makes his case, he links where computing is and where itâ??s going to the evolution of the electricity industry.
If computing affects your investments or your business, you want to read this book.show more
by Daniel G. Taylor
